


Transparency

by Dira Sudis (dsudis)



Category: CSI: NY
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2010-01-11
Updated: 2010-01-11
Packaged: 2017-10-06 04:35:05
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,264
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/49716
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/dsudis/pseuds/Dira%20Sudis
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p><em>"Danny," Mac finally said, "did you just ask me for advice on your romantic relationship?"</em></p>
            </blockquote>





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**Author's Note:**

> Beta thanks to Miss Molly Etc.
> 
> This story was first posted March 1, 2007.

After a while, Danny couldn't keep staring at his hands anymore. He looked up, and Mac was looking right _through_ him, like he was a trace sample under the scope. Danny stuttered into silence.

Mac kept staring.

"So, um, do you? Have any... thoughts on that?" This was not just a bad idea. This was an incredibly bad idea. He would suspect whoever came up with this idea of having it in for him, except Danny was pretty sure he'd thought it up himself.

Mac's stare developed into a squint, and he tilted his head.

Danny squirmed.

"Danny," Mac finally said, "did you just ask me for advice on your romantic relationship?"

"I mean, if it's out of your depth, no big deal," Danny said, gripping the arms of the chair, tensing to stand up and bolt. "I just thought I'd run it by you. I mean, I don't really _talk_ to anybody else, especially not anybody who'd get what it's like working here and trying to, you know, and I'm pretty sure Flack's already got dibs on Stella, so that leaves you, but this was a stupid idea, so I'll just--"

But Mac was leaning toward him now. "Detective Flack."

Yeah, okay, now was the time for an emergency to call Danny out of the office and very far away. Mac was watching him with this look that made Danny think he couldn't actually run fast enough to get away, even with Mac starting from behind the desk. "Uh, yeah."

"Detective Flack is getting advice from Stella."

Danny nodded cautiously. "I think so. I mean, like, last week we had this thing, and I'm pretty sure he wouldn't have thought of--uh--yeah. I'm pretty sure."

Mac closed his eyes and pinched the bridge of his nose like his head hurt. "You and Detective Flack are in a relationship, and Stella knows about it, and is giving Flack advice."

"Yeah," Danny said. It was a little easier to talk now that Mac wasn't looking at him, and now that it was all on the table. "I mean, we--we didn't figure we should try to hide it from her or you, because you'd notice sooner or later and we didn't want--but I wasn't going to file a report about who I'm sleeping with, either, so we just agreed that when it came up it came up and now it came up, so, yeah, me and Flack."

Mac looked up again, and he was right back to staring.

"So I guess Stella _doesn't_ gossip, then," Danny added.

Mac looked vaguely offended. "Of course she doesn't."

Danny held up placating hands, about twenty minutes too late. "No, of course, she just--I figured she might tell you if she thought it was gonna be a thing, but it's not a thing. I mean, you didn't even notice until I told you, right? So it's not affecting anything, and now I told you, so we're not keeping it a secret, and we're good, it's all good, and I'm just going to go now."

Mac didn't exactly nod--it wasn't even quite a blink--but Danny chose to interpret the slight change of Mac's expression as dismissal anyway, and took off. He'd nearly made it to the door when Mac said, "You're not good, though."

Danny froze. Shit, shit, shit. If Mac said this wasn't allowed, that he and Flack had to call it quits or somebody had to transfer or--

"You should apologize."

Danny flinched. He'd done this badly--Flack had had it easy, pulling Stella, and they both knew it. Stella wasn't Flack's boss, _Mac_ wasn't even Flack's boss, neither of them had any intention of doing this with _Flack's_ boss--but if all Mac wanted was an apology to smooth this over, that had to be worth it, right? It coulda been a lot worse.

Danny turned back, bracing himself. "I'm sorry, Mac, I--"

Mac was shaking his head, and the stare had mellowed out a little--there was something almost like _amusement_ in Mac's eyes. "Not to me, Danny. To Flack. That's my advice: apologize."

"Apologize," Danny repeated blankly, trying to shift mental gears, and when he got there it was like whiplash. "Hey, no way, I just got done telling you, _I_ didn't--"

Mac rolled his eyes. "That doesn't matter, Danny. You want to know how to fix this, start by apologizing and go from there. If you focus on which one of you wins, then nobody does, believe me."

It was Danny's turn to stare. Mac just raised his eyebrows, like this was the part where he was waiting for Danny to be smart enough to put the evidence together and catch up to Mac's reasoning.

Okay, well--Mac knew him, and knew Flack. And even if Danny couldn't actually imagine how it had ever _worked_, Mac had been married and stayed married, so he knew fights and he knew making up. And thirty seconds ago Danny'd been ready to apologize to _Mac_ if it meant him and Flack could stick together, so why _not_ apologize to someone who might just blow him by the end of it if he did it right?

"I should apologize."

"You should apologize," Mac confirmed with a nod. "But first you should get the hell out of my office."

Danny felt a grin bust out on his face. "Yeah, okay. I'm gonna go--"

"No details," Mac said firmly. "Just go. Shut the door behind you."

Danny turned on his heel and went, but Flack was fifteen feet down the hallway, loitering and staring at the toes of his shiny shoes. He glanced up at Danny without raising his head, rubbed the back of his neck and said, "I, uh..."

Danny hadn't had a lot of time to _plan_\--maybe twenty seconds--but he'd figured he was going to do the apology thing up right, starting with actually coming up with something to apologize for, and then picking some location where he could really _express_ himself, apology-wise. Except after about five seconds of looking at Flack looking at him like that, Danny blurted out, "I'm sorry."

Flack dropped the hand and took a step toward him. "Nah, Danny, I--"

Flack's gaze darted over Danny's shoulder just as Danny heard Mac's office door close again, and Danny whirled around to see Stella walking over to sit on the edge of Mac's desk. He couldn't see her face from here, but there was triumph in her stride.

Danny turned back, and Flack was closer now, almost close enough to touch. He was still staring past Danny, and he looked a little freaked.

Danny knew just how he felt. "This is it. They're conspiring."

"We don't stand a chance," Flack muttered.

"Ahh, don't count us out yet."

Danny took the last couple of steps to Flack's side, and bumped his shoulder against Flack's, right there where Mac and Stella could have seen if they'd looked. Flack looked over and gave him a tiny smile, and Danny got a half-terrified rush from it, like they were doing a hell of a lot more than standing shoulder-to-shoulder in a public hallway--but then if Mac or Stella saw them doing this, they'd see a hell of a lot more. They'd spot the heat in Danny's face that matched the pink in Flack's cheeks, and the way they didn't stop staring at each other...

Danny looked away, but kept his shoulder tight against Flack's. "Come on. Long as we stick together, I think we could still get out of this alive."


End file.
